Many civilizations across the vastness of time fought the Creeper. Many of them developed ever more desperate measures to hold back the inevitable… One, many eons ago, developed the technology to mask technology from the Creeper. It was very expensive and would only work over a small area, but it could be used to conceal precious technology. Subsequent civilizations came to call these vessels ‘Artifacts of Odin‘ and continued to use them to conceal from the Creeper things that were very important. Sadly, but to our benefit, the items that were of most use to civilizations in their final hours were Weapons of Creeper Annihilation. Now that the last of human civilizations have fallen and slipped quietly into the long night, their few remaining WCA’s are left scattered across worlds.
Still looking awesome
Apologies ahead of time about double post.
Am I the only one who is amused by the fact that pictures aren’t from the video?
You noticed…. 🙂
In retrospect, I suppose that it would be redundant if you showed images from the same play through as when you recorded video. On the other hand, it would be easier to show something off for people who can’t watch the video when they first look at a blog update.
I’ve always noticed. same on, from what I can tell, all of the posts with vids and pics.
I think you were trying to record a video and your assault failed, so the video just dragged on. I could see the creeper was instantly going to collapse onto the cleared out area without a buffer. Nice picture though.
From what I read, it sounds almost like either the humans are extinct, or very well-hidden.
I’m not sure… In the first game, Humans were all but extinct (except for Odin City). Then there was Colony Prime and seemingly a rebound in the Human population. It kinda feels like the Creeper made a comeback and resumed wiping out Humans again.
I imagine it as being an alternative timeline where humans are either extinct or never existed in the first place.
Wow didn’t expect that.
Wow. Guessing from the names of the other artifacts, I’d say they pretty much are ideas that have been put forward in the forums for some weapon/titan/orbital/whathaveyou. Great way of including these and in what an ingenious way. Especially my favourite, which was the freeze ability. But do tell: Are collected artifacts taken to the next map in a campaign? Otherwise it would be a shame not to use them. (Teasing your community is a viable reason, of course)
Also: Setting a best time is going to be tricky with so many possibilities of going about beating a map.
Perhaps leftover artifacts could give bonus points for not using them. Why not study the ancient, valuable technology, rather than just throwing it at the creeper?
I like that idea a lot. Would be very hard to get balanced right, though.
I agree Why not get bonus points at the end of the game OR if it campain just get bonus skill points
Question: Can anti-creeper use digitalis as the same highway that creeper can?
Idea: If no, an upgrade for it to do that? If that increases game release time, then please don’t do it
Nice Game. Love the series.
Can’t Wait!
AC can use digitalis… yes.
On the thought that digitalis can conduct anti-creeper, I was wondering if you could make creeper follow strict paths like in creeper world 2? Also it would be nice if berthas had a co-ordination button so all bertha missiles would land at exactly the same time.
7:45 *placing collectors* “oh lets just place some reactors here” lol
Reminded me of Bob Ross, “Let’s place some happy collectors close to his rock, and their happy friends the reactors close to them”
Looking amazing as always, can’t wait.
Pretty cool video, thank you for finishing off the mission, too 🙂
I think it’s a great idea to add 1-time use abilities. They seem very potent, too. I can see a lot of very aggressive tactics come to life with those new tools. However, I’m not sure what the “Fire Mass” would do – does anyone have a clue? I would guess it does damage, a whole lot of damage, but nothing as fancy as the freeze? Maybe I’m wrong!
Interesting to see another use for multiple command nodes. Also, I never realized they really share the resources when connect (like, the resource can go out from any command node, independent of which one collected it – I thought the energy/AC was stored locally, in the nodes).
Do you mind sharing the seed for the map “Hail Virgil”? It sounds like the map would be pretty awesome 😀
Looking forward to the release a bit more every day!
Good job, Sir!
Codes are all in a database online so when the game ships there will be a collection of DMD codes already available.
Ah, that’s neat stuff. Also giving the community a collection of maps to compete on from the get-go, to see who scores best ^_^
Considering Freeze and Convert seem self explanatory, my guess would be that Fire Mass is something like a Mortar/Bertha.
Actually, another (better idea imo) would be something akin to the Terraformer. I like the idea that it would raise the terrain in a givin area by a number of layers.
From some of the ideas I have seen thrown around, I would guess fire “mass” creates a great “mass” i.e. black hole type thing. I would assume that it is also for a limited time.
A black hole, sucking all the surrinding creeper into a tight spot. Like the collect anti-creeper from the sprayer, just with more power? That could be pretty sweet. If the range is high for this one, it could be used to create safe pathways, gather the creeper in a tight spot to let the bertha (or mortar) take it out, relocate the creeper to some extend… Whoo. I hope you’re right with your singularity theory.
Now, what does the weapon in the Aether forge say? Was it singularity or something? 😀
My guess is it’s sort of a gravity well that pulls creeper towards one location, making it easier to kill for mortars and such. Although it could be a large lump of rock and dirt that instantly creates a 2 by 2 (or something) elevation 2-3 levels higher than the terrain was before, squishing all creeper beneath it.
if you have played COD or Battlefield imagine a 105 round hitting the area but on a larger scale and a bit more earth shattering potential….hey vergil can you make the mass round actually lower the land mass that would be cool
looks amazing and what a relay range man o.o (still you let me wondering about those other 2 special weapons)
Looking very sharp! Very much looking forward to the game. The tactical options are going to be incredible.
Awesome! Looks practically done! Right? Like – real soon? 🙂
To me it looks practically done for more than 3 months now, and yet I’m always amazed to see what has been added 😀
I wonder though if the game is now considered feature complete? He may still have to make the second titan, if he didn’t already do so.
Also, the campaign^^
THIRD Titan. there are three of them
Apologies, I forget counting the Aether Forge sometimes. I’ll probably not forget it anymore once I used the… whatsitcalled? Singularity? The special ability I’m yet to see what does 🙂
the singularity weapon its called. my OCD is driving me crazy I want to know what it does.
The second Titan is the Forge, I believe.
Heh, my first thought when I saw the freeze effect was exactly the assault you used at the end.
I’m not sure how good an idea it is to put these in random maps, they seem quite overpowered against non-specialized creeper.
You’d be surprised just how easy it is to waste an AoO…
I can feel release coming so much closer!!
(first?)
(No)
(thanks)
Awesome!
first comment, awesome video, hope it comes out soon
Just gotta point out. All comments are subject to confirmation by V, so trying to claim first when you don’t see any others just makes you look foolish.
In a world of moderated postings, it is never a good idea to claim First Comment 😛
Though really, it’s never a good idea anyway. When your post is the first post, people will know it, not just because you declared it to be so.
But maybe he meant it was his first ever post, not the first on this particular blog entry?
perhaps he was stating that his post was the first that matters cause he is special after all, right?
thanks virgil, this is awesome <3
Artifacts…
Very interesting, I like how they add depth to the story 🙂
Keep up the good work Virgil, you have my 10 dollars!
Quick question!? Are the graphics pretty much good to go. I remember the graphics you had in CW2 and how they changed pretty last minute. Just curious if these are finalized or you have ideas for changing things?
I’ve seen them shape over time and look pretty sharp, overall the game looks very…. colorful.
Will we be able to use the cloaking for stealth units by chance?
What good would that do? *thinking* … you could make a unit invincible to runner stun attacks or spore targeting. Calling such an option stealth is probably as good as any term.
clearly this would allow you the ability to loose your units and be pleasantly or unpleasantly surprised by their interaction with the creeper
I have an idea for a titan, though you probably already have your own
its like the storage capsules in the mission and like a shield
an area of effect that creeper can flow into but buildings and weapons wont take damage from, of course the tower would still be vulnerable, and building a tower to protect that one would not work
obviously it would have a high cost to build and maintain.
I also noticed that relays connecting to relays are blue, I guess it shows the “packet high ways”
my guess on what the other artifacts do its
Mass: drops a load of anti-creeper, mid to high
Convert: its a conversion bomb… FROM THE SKY!!!!
I am especially glad we can see the energy usage (and shortage) again. I was afraid you had abandoned the concept of building right on the edge of the energy supply. In CW1 I have my eyes on the energy meters almost constantly to time when to put down the next collector or build a weapon such that I’m JUST NOT in the red.
Now that those indicators are clear again, strategy for fast building has returned! Thank you!
I’m not sure if you mentioned this before, but what makes a connection blue? In the video it was a connection that was on a PZ, but not in the picture. What causes it, and what are it’s effects?
I think that blue lines are between relays.
Green connections show a “simple connection”, i.e. between collectors or from collector to relay.
Blue connections are “highways”, i.e. between relays or from CN to relay. Packets will move quicker on blue connections.
It is a cosmetic effect of the high-speed ‘highway’ created by linked relays.
Relay – Relay and Relay – Command Node connections are blue from the looks of it. This is one of those little things that make the UI so much better, especially since Relays got buffed and are actually worth using in this game.
its between relays you can see that in the picture, the reason it was from the power zone was that it was being used for a relay
Also, it’s pretty cool that the network turns red when your energy gets low. Was wondering if you would consider making the network yellow when you are using more than you are collecting and red when you get low. It’d be nice to get some kind of warning that you might get into trouble soon based off the color of the network instead of just “red” when it’s basically too late.
Actually, perhaps the network could even have a gradient from green, to green-yellow, to yellow, to orange, to red as your network experiences more deficit in energy.
I saw that when you put two freez efects there ate two counters one for each efect. Maybe if you put two efects of the same type on one location their time would add up.
I like the idea that different AoO’s should have their own timers. If you cast a second one, it’s still going to count down if your first one hasn’t timed out yet.
Complication Reduction Redundancy Statement: I like it the way it is.
Awesome as usual.
I can’t wait to try shields in an offensive way and aggressive terraformation. 😀
I can’t remember what is the Siphon for. Is that some kind of a wall ?
The Siphon is your gem-collecting building. In CW2 you simply had to click them to collect the gems, and once filled with ammunition, you’d get the whole energy at once.
In CW3, you build a Siphon on top of the gems. They are then (rather quickly) converted to energy and transferred to your network if connected. It’s like a super-reactor with a limited lifetime.
The siphon is used to pull power from power crystals across the map I believe. In CW2 you just had to connect to them but in CW3 you have to siphon them
Siphons are used to collect crystal energy
Getting energy from crystals I think.
siphon was for energy crystals you can see them in effect in roma victor, I believe it was
its used for crystal power he showed it off in one of his videos look up the one for the terraformers
I’m eager to try this as well. I’m mostly a casual turtle build kind of player, so I see myself building tons of Reactors and just using Shields and Terraformers to do the levels.
I don’t think so, but can you use Terraformers to change void?
Wouldn’t that be a great titan unit? A “void terraformer”
If the Terraformers can’t change the void, then I wouldn’t expect any alternative way to change void to terrain or vice versa.
Thanks guys. 😉
I wouldn’t have thought to use the freeze that way. Seems a bit risky, but cool!
Scratch that, I thought about using it to carve a path in the creeper, but I had forgotten about guppies.
Question about the way the AC is distributed from the Command Modules. I noticed that the closest CM delivers to the bombers and that the others do not at all. In the mean time eventually the other two are full of AC but the excess is still trying to pump to them instead of all of it going to the one Command Module that has empty space.
Does it know to send excess to empty Command Modules as opposed to trying to fill already full Command Modules? In this case the only way you would ever use supply from the other 2 would be to completely drain the closest. Seems like a waste of the excess AC production.
The way I see it, the excess AC wouldn’t be used anyway. You would simply have more in the first Command Module. The amount of AC used would still be the same, therefore the only thing different is how much each Module has.
AC, when it is produced, is sent to all connect Command Nodes in ’round robin’ mode.
Does it register that a CM has full AC storage and not to send any more?
Yes, if it did, then it would reroute once it got to the CN.
Would it have to go all the way to a CM? In CW1, the packets would change routes if there was a better way set up before it reached the destination.
When I was looking this a thing crossed my mind. Could it be possible that if you have command nodes connected to each other You would see one resourcebar only for them?( Or does having resourcebar for each one even when connected provide some extra necessary information?) It would atleast release more room in screen. Since I atleast don’t like that some games fill their screens whit menus and bars and stuff.(Not this one)
From what I noticed, connected Command Modules share energy and energy production rates, but they have different amounts of AC stored.
Maybe having a condensed GUI for connected CM’s?
I say no to that. It’s fine as it is and you won’t have the trouble of splitting them again if the connection between two CM’s network happens to be cut (by a spore attack, for instance)
Good point.
Nice to see CBs are back. Not nice to see that they’re limited. Then again, the only reason they were balanced at all in CW2 was the high price, slow movement speed, and that they would detonate before reaching their target. Mass driver sounds nice. I assume orbital bombardment. At this point, until release, you need, what, a single Titan and refining of some features and the like?
The siphon is used to drain resources from crystals. I want to know what makes a connection blue, too! 🙂 And if anybody could add the time, and there are no separate counters for the specials, then people would place each freeze to the edge of the other freeze, and make a long tunnel-like structure that lasts for a couple hundred seconds. Basically, it would make it much more overpowered than it already is.
well,virgil could reduce the time freeze is active
also,i think the blue connection is the one made with relays
P.S. (if you noticed) on relays, packets of any kind travel faster
I’m crazy excited for this game and it just keeps getting better! Keep up the good work!
please the Felice date
Felice date?
Don’t think we have a Felice date. If so, I would be interested to see what that would be! XD
It could be a typo, intending to say “Feliz.”
In spanish, Feliz is merry or happy, as in Feliz Navidad (Merry Christmas). The release date would be Feliz indeed.
Maybe he’s asking about the Reliz date?
Every post you make just gets me more hyped for CW3.
On release day I’m gonna be yelling “TAKE MY MONEY” whilst foaming at the mouth. Then I’ll probably play it for 48 hours straight. 🙂
if AC can use digitalis will there suppose to be a building to make an upgrade and use or how we will use an AC digitalis?
Let me try to explain this way:
——- ——-
l l
l l
n========= s
l l
l l
——- ———
Two islands with void in between (I guess it also could be two hills and a valley?) with a runner nest (n) on one and a sprayer (s) on the other. There is a stretch of digitalis (===) in between. Now since there is no emitter in this setup, there is no creeper. So, any ac that is emitted by s could flow across the gap on the digitalis all the way to the nest, given a sufficient supply of ac.
It would also work if there was an emitter, if it is weak enough, so that the ac overcomes the emitted creeper’s pressure.
Mmh. That ascii drawing got screwed up a bit, I’m afraid.
Interesting idea… If the people who left the artifacts were able to cloak them, maybe that itself should be an artifact? making a unit(s) impervious to creeper for a set time? just a thought.
Wait…If command nodes can simply be taken into orbit, and placed anywhere, does that not eliminate the purpose of the guppies? For a better example, remember back to ‘the wall’ when virgilw destroyed the spore tower using the guppies for energy.
My apologies, it wasn’t the wall. The mission I was speaking of was ‘The March’
well, most of the time you will have a limited number of CN’s… and they don’t always fit everywhere.
CNs also need a supply of energy to create packets, whereas guppies fly to their destination with them already stored. So you’d have to build some infrastructure like reactors or collectors at the destined site, which it’s really best to use guppies for anyway.
It most likely will have advantages to using the CN instead of the guppies, is space allows it. For one, you can collect in a new area and, more importantly, store quite a bit in CN. Further, maybe most important (if I’m not mistaken on this!) I think that guppy takes priority of the CN when it comes to delivering the packets.
So let’s imagine you have a very small base with very little energy, and can’t afford the redundant guppies that easily to support it. Having a CN with just a couple collectors allows you to charge the storage of that CN while the guppy supplies the turrets/whatever, when it goes back to recharge the CN will take over. They could be cycling quite nicely.
Eventually, you may be able to use guppies to force-build some reactors which you otherwise could not afford without losing the position (all energy needed for weapons), and as reactors get built with the guppies, the base eventually becomes self-sustained and can even grow on it’s own.
A guppy-supply line will never grow unless you add guppies. A CN base will grow. A CN base supplied by guppies will grow quickly!
It also seems easier when you want to do long-range mining, or actually use ore that is only available on that forward position to defend that same forward position with AC.
Nah, I think CN will offer a lot more than guppies in term of forward base and have a very good use. Guppies may act as an addon to them.
What CN will likely not be able to do is some blitzkrieg raid on emitters and taking them down, due to their size, which is something at which guppies shine: A quick attack on a precise location, without the intention to claim it for yourself. 🙂
I couldn’t have said it better my self!
Virgil,
There is something that was a little annoying in CW1 and is still present in CW3 that I just noticed. When you had the game paused at the very beginning, you ordered your Command Bases to land. Then before unpausing you started placing collectors to be built. However, the collectors did not show lines connecting to the Command Bases’ “hologram” (image indicating where the base was going to land). Can you make the collectors show lines if they are close enough to where a base will be landing?
Otherwise, you have no way of knowing for certain if you built the collectors too far away. Not a big deal, but definitely an annoyance, especially when you want to move a Command Base somewhere and begin planning a base ahead of time.
I second this motion, maybe in an update, certainly not something that needs to be done before release.
I’ll second that. Cool feature, but I can certainly do without if this pushes the release an hour earlier (also, after a couple games you probably know where to place the collectors anyway, I bet^^ Ranges become natural very quickly in such a game)
Then you are better player than I. I play CW1 still and I STILL
(Hit the “post comment” accidentally while typing somehow!)
Then you are better player than I. I play CW1 still and I STILL cannot figure out the range ahead of time!
One more idea that would be great to add in a patch perhaps. The ability to turn on a grid that shows where you can and cannot build.
Hah, not sure a feeling for distance makes me a better player automatically! 😀
Yes, such a grid falls in the same category I guess. It’s a useful tool, and may be very useful indeed when “measuring” some little spots to see if an assault is easily feasible, or if you’ll lack a square or so. Again, you could just pick a turret, and drag it over the space and measure this way. But I guess a grid would be easier to use!
http://you-just-need-to-shut-up.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/shut-up-and-take-my-money2.jpg
NOW!
I don’t think we’ve seen what happens when a guppy landed not at its pad gets destroyed. Does the pad build a new one or just blow up? If the pad builds a new one does that have a cost or is it free?
I would think the guppy would just take off and return to its pad until its safe… but that’s just a guess.
I would think the pad would rebuild and re-fill the new guppy with energy.
ya I wondered this a long time ago and V said that the guppy would be destroyed and the pad would just build a new one
Ok. Does it cost anything for the pad to rebuild it?
I went back and looked for the post and couldnt find it
though from what I remember he didnt mention anything about price
from the game supposed to be (semi)realistic I would guess that it would cost somthing
is it just me, or does CW1/3 seem a bit similar to the game Perimeter?
Indeed, that was one of Virgil’s inspirations, along with some games that are in that general genre. This interview has a little bit more information: http://bashers.nl/indie-interviews-virgil-wall-de-maker-van-anti-rts-creeper-world
That is awesome. Perimeter is definitely an inspiration for some.
just you.
It is similar in the fact that you have a single structure and you form an energy network. You expand and consume the land. Perimeter is a great game and I highly recommend it. Even Virgil can use some concepts from it (some are already used) to develop the creeper world 3 theme and I would not be surprised if he already played the game. Did you play perimeter Virgil?
I just realized, in the forge there is something called Singularity Weapon and a Slider at 50%. I can’t find any reference to what is that. Has it been already explained?
Great game, thank you for all the hard work. I am eagerly waiting for the release date.